Latino youth seek to play key role in elections

Oct. 8, 2012

Updated Aug. 21, 2013 1:17 p.m.

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Maria Zacarias canvases an Anaheim neighborhood hoping to register U.S. citizens to vote. Zacarias is currently in the country illegally. Her mother brought her to the United States from Michoacan, Mexico when she was a child. While she cannot vote, she goes out into Latino communities in Orange County and registers U.S. citizens to vote. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Maria Zacarias, left, convinces Margarita Rodriguez to register to vote while canvassing an Anaheim neighborhood last month. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Maria Zacarias, left, convinces Manuel Gonzalez to register to vote while canvassing an Anaheim neighborhood last month. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Delhi Center volunteers Elizabeth Gaitman and Ricardo Ramos canvas a Santa Ana neighborhood with iPads in-hand to try to register residents to vote. This gentleman said he was already registered to vote. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Delhi Center volunteer Elizabeth Gaitman canvases a Santa Ana neighborhood with iPads in-hand to register residents to vote last month. This gentleman was interested and ready to register, but his boss interrupted by saying, "Stop talking and get back to work." JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Maria Zacarias canvasses an Anaheim neighborhood hoping to register U.S. citizens to vote. Zacarias is currently in the country illegally. Her mother brought her to the United States from Michoacan, Mexico when she was a child. While she cannot vote, she goes out into Latino communities in Orange County and registers U.S. citizens to vote. JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Maria Zacarias canvases an Anaheim neighborhood hoping to register U.S. citizens to vote. Zacarias is currently in the country illegally. Her mother brought her to the United States from Michoacan, Mexico when she was a child. While she cannot vote, she goes out into Latino communities in Orange County and registers U.S. citizens to vote.JOSHUA SUDOCK, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

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Maria Zacarias knocked on doors in a Latino neighborhood in Phoenix this summer, asking U.S. citizens to make their voices heard in a way that she can't.

"It's important to vote this year," she told them. "You're making a difference in the Latino community because some can't vote and you'll be voting for them."

The 26-year-old Santa Ana resident was talking about herself. At age 2, she crossed illegally into the U.S. with her mother. Despite several failed attempts to adjust her legal status, she is here unlawfully and is ineligible to vote.

Still, that hasn't stopped Zacarias and hundreds of Latino youth in similar situations from mobilizing, spreading out across the country and knocking on doors in Latino neighborhoods. They urge residents to vote Democrat in swing states where the Latino vote is critical to winning everything from local races to the presidential contest.

It's not just those who are in the country illegally who have become part of the political process. Latino youth who are U.S. citizens will play a pivotal role in this election and those still to come.

Nearly 50,000 Latinos who are U.S. citizens turn 18 years old – voting age – every month, said Astrid Garcia, director of State Election Policy and Redistricting for the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials.

"People understand that the Latino vote matters," Garcia said.

However, there is a deep disconnect between the more than 50 million Latinos in this country and how many vote on Election Day, said Roberto Suro, a professor of journalism and public policy at the University of Southern California.

"How much political muscle does the Hispanic population actually carry?" Suro asked an audience during a July 9 panel discussion on the Latino vote at the New America Foundation in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, 21 million Latinos in the U.S. – only about 40 percent – were eligible to vote because most are underage or non-U.S. citizens, Suro said, referring to census data.

Out of those who are eligible, only a little more than half are registered voters, and even fewer – about 7 million – actually vote, he said.

While Latinos have a large presence in states such as California and New York, those states already vote Democrat, so they are basically decided for the presidential election.

Latinos could make a difference only in a handful of battleground states, such as Nevada, Colorado and Florida, Suro explained.

The bigger battleground states, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, don't have a large enough Latino population to be bothered with, he said.

"Where the Latino vote could shift the presidential election is in relatively few places," he said.

DREAMERS POLITICIZED

That's why a contingent of Latino youth who are in the country illegally and call themselves "Dreamers" are going on the offense, targeting key Latino swing states. They've descended on Latino communities in Florida, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and other states to persuade people to register to vote.

The Dreamers are named after the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (Dream) Act, which failed to pass in Congress.

President Barack Obama in June announced that he would halt deportation for some eligible young people who came to the U.S. as children and stayed illegally, providing them with authorization to work.

His move galvanized the Dreamers to take to the streets and take a more proactive approach in this election, members say.

The Dream Action Network deployed as many as 50 Dreamers to each state to organize teams of hundreds of people to knock on doors in Latino communities and register those eligible to vote, said Cesar Vargas, a Dreamer and spokesman for the network.

When they distribute the registration forms in Latino neighborhoods, they also give a reason to vote, telling those who answer the door about their stories and inability to vote, Vargas said.

"These are our stories. This is who I am. Vote for me because I'm your brother. I'm your sister. I'm your boyfriend. I'm your girlfriend," Vargas and the other Dreamers say.

'YOUR VOICE, MY VOTE'

The effort is part of the recently launched "Su Voz Mi Voto" campaign, which translates to "Your Voice, My Vote."

The campaign is designed to motivate and educate Latino voters that their voice in 2012 will be the voice of friends, family members and classmates who are in the country unlawfully.

"Politics for us is about survival. For us this is our lives at stake," Vargas said.

In Florida, Mayra Hidalgo said she and other youth in the country illegally are canvassing Latino communities throughout the state. She said she understands how critical the state is for the presidential run.

Hidalgo, who is applying for Obama's new immigration relief, said she and others are afraid that Romney would repeal the only immigration relief she's been given. That's why they are taking to the street with a message: "Don't vote for Romney."

If she encounters a U.S. citizen who isn't registered to vote, she tells them about how she came to the U.S. from Costa Rica as a child, overstayed her visitor visa and stayed in the country unlawfully, and is now seeking relief.

LEADING ISSUES

Dreamers are pitching immigration as the overarching issue in this election.

Latinos aren't a homogenous group, however, and the issues they care about are as diverse as the countries they hail from.

"Latinos care about the things all voters care about," said Garcia of NALEO.

Though immigration ranks as one of the top five issues for Latinos, the economy is the highest concern for the same demographic, Garcia said. She pointed to studies that show that accessibility to education and health care also trump immigration.

Immigration, however, can be very personal for Latino voters who have loved ones in the country illegally.

Zacarias, who canvassed predominantly Latino communities in Anaheim on a recent weekday, said she's encouraged her family to take to the polls.

Like many who are in this country illegally, Zacarias comes from a family with mixed legal status. Some are legal residents and many are U.S. citizens who are registered to vote and know that she is in the process of gathering documents to apply for immigration relief.

When her aunt goes to the voting booth on Nov. 4, she will keep her niece in mind and it will likely determine whom she votes for, she said.

FUTURE ELECTIONS

NALEO is trying to reach out to Latino youth and is using technology to engage this demographic, Garcia said.

This election cycle, the group is taking advantage of voter registration and has even issued a smartphone application to educate young voters and encourage them to vote.

While Latino youth will make some impact in this election, they will be a force to be reckoned with in future elections, Suro said.

One can see the future of America and its voters in today's school yards, he said.

Many of the 60 percent of Latinos who aren't eligible to vote are too young now, Suro said. Look 15, 20 or 25 years down the line, and that Latino voting block will make a significant share of the electorate, he said.

Almost one of every three voters who ages into the electorate in the future will be Latino, he said.

"The discussion of Latino voters is a discussion about the future of politics, not about this cycle," Suro said.

"Where this cycle could have a big difference is in how it casts trajectories looking to the future and what it does to ... the young people who are watching this election and will be coming on stream in very large numbers in the next couple of presidential cycles and could have a huge impact going forward."

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